How daily body rhythms affect the brain's blood barrier in a human-like microchip
Dynamic Circadian Regulation of the Blood-Brain Interface in a Human Brain-mimicking Microfluid Chip
Using a human-like lab chip, researchers look at how the body's daily clock changes the brain's blood barrier and its risk for tiny bleeds to help people with stroke, brain injury, or age-related brain bleeding.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Champaign, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11179491 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project will build a miniature 'brain-on-a-chip' that mimics the human blood-brain interface, including clotting factors and the cells that line brain blood vessels. The team will program the chip to follow daily (circadian) rhythms and run human blood-like fluid through it to recreate clotting and leak events. They will trigger controlled tiny leaks and watch inflammatory and cell-injury responses at different times of day to find when the barrier is most vulnerable. The platform is intended to help test treatments and explain why microbleeds and strokes often cluster at particular times.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Although the project is lab-based and not enrolling patients, its findings are most relevant to older adults and people who have had strokes, traumatic brain injury, or dementia-related brain bleeding.
Not a fit: People without blood-brain barrier problems or who are young and otherwise healthy are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this lab-focused project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal when the brain's blood barrier is most likely to leak and point to better timing or targets for treatments to prevent microbleeds.
How similar studies have performed: Organ-on-a-chip models have been used to study the blood-brain barrier before, but combining human-like clotting and circadian timing to study microbleeds is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
Champaign, United States
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Champaign, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gillette, Martha U — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Study coordinator: Gillette, Martha U
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.